Get help, advice and information on all your Business issues. http://advice-and.info/Business/dentist+marketing.htm Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:35:27 GMT en Lately, I've been receiving this question, stating somewhat of a choice: What would be better? Should I go for Internet (or On-line) Dental Marketing, or Off-line Dental Marketing? Well, my answer to this question is both andor neither. It would be up to you if you would choose either Internet or off-line dental marketing. Both kinds of dental marketing have their own advantages. In this article I would discuss to you the benefits of such dental marketing strategies. For InternetOn-line Dental Marketing : As my prediction for the next three years, there would be a big possibility that the patients would go for on-line dental marketing, where these patients will try to reach their dentists through the Internet. We can estimate that to around 80 of the patients reaching and even finding their dentists through the World Wide Web. Just think about it. If you throw a question to, let's say, around one hundred people, asking them where they would get their directions, research information and choose ne w service provider, roughly around eighty to ninety of them would say I just had to google it. You see, going on-line would spare them the time going from one location to another. Let's say, for example, if a person would like to see the latest version of a certain cellphone (like Nokia, or Motorola, or whatever). Wouldn't it be much easier for himher to just go and check it out in the Internet in the comfort of hisher own home, rather than go to his local shop a few miles away? This would save himher time and energy, don't you agree? This is just like in the field of Internet or On-line marketing. It's much easier for patients to reach their respective dentists on the Internet. Going on-line would save them the time and energy that they would need to go from their home to their dentist's office. Reaching their dentist is just within the click of a button! For Off-line Dental Marketing : Like on-line dental marketing, off-line dental marketing has its advantages as well. The traditional way of http://advice-and.info/Business/92026_Internet_Dental_Marketing_Or_Off-line_Dental_Marketing_Which_Dental_Marketing_Method_Works_Best.html Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:04:37 GMT Today, a lot of people are making use of the Internet in their daily activities. Stuff like shopping through e-bay; looking up for prices of cars in automobile sites; logging in to social networking sites; you name it... the Internet is becoming an important part of people's lives. This being the fact, the Internet itself can be considered as a new dentist marketing idea. We can use the power of the Internet as a new strategy to become successful in the field of dentist marketing. So questions like these would spring out of your thoughts:How can the Internet lead you to success in dentist marketing?;What makes it fit to be a winning factor in dentist marketing?. Answers to these questions will be provided to you in this article. In dentist marketing, the Internet is useful due to these facts: (1) Lots of People Are Going On-line On The Internet: As we know, lots of people are using the Internet in their daily activities. The number of people that are searching on-line is greater compared to a ny other media for their service providers; they get directions to places they want to go, they chat with other people in social media directories, etc. Building your own website for your dentist marketing business involves making sure that your website would be presented in a way that could increase the traffic of your visitors (which could be your potential patients), as you expect more and more people log on to the Internet everyday. (2) It's All About Keywords: Having new ideas for good key words can help you become successful in dentist marketing as well. Use specific keywords (such as dentist, marketing, or any other suitable key words). With this, you can really dominate your area in the Internet... and you will be able to overcome your competitors in the business! (3) Remember, Every Visit Counts: Gaining new patients through the Internet in dentist marketing is, in fact, absolutely FREE! Take note: the more visitors you have on your site, the higher the ranking of your page is. So, i http://advice-and.info/Business/92023_Dentist_Marketing_Idea_The_Internet.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:31:15 GMT One of the best ways to become successful in the business of dentist marketing is to develop a new idea of creating a gameplan. What does this idea of gameplan refer to? Well, it refers to developing a gameplan that would help you to double new patients in your dentist marketing business. So the more new patients that you have, the more successful you will be in your business. Developing this kind of idea is one way to be on top of the dentist marketing area. So how do you create this new dentist marketing idea? The answer to this is that you should come up and set for goals. This could be setting goals for: (1) how many new patients you want; (2) what type of patients you want to attract; (3) how many referrals you want to generate; and (4) how much you expect each patient to be worth. #1: Setting Goals for How Many New Patients You Want: In dentist marketing, setting goals on how many new patients you would like to have can be a very helpful idea. Set the number of new patients that you would have, let's say, for a month. Having this number in your mindset can help you target a specific number of patients at a fixed rate in a month (let's say 3 patients in a month). Then as time passes by, you will be able to add more new patients to those fixed numbers of new patients ( let's say from the fixed number of 3 patients, you will be able to have 4 to 5 patients in a month, etc.). #2: Setting Goals for What Type of Patients You Want To Attract: Determining the type of new patients that you would want to attract can also be helpful in dentist marketing. These could vary from patients from different kinds of status and professions (lawyers, accountants, engineers, etc.). Having this idea would help you in setting up the income that you would like to have in a month; as to how much you would charge for this type of patient, etc. depending on their status and professions. #3: Setting Goals for How Many Referrals You Want To Generate: As you will be able to satisfy your new patients with you http://advice-and.info/Business/92022_Dentist_Marketing_Idea_Create_A_Gameplan.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:10:06 GMT Being a dentist marketing consultant, I would say that all that matters in on-line dentist marketing is the development and growth of your own website. What I mean by this is that you should be getting lots of traffic into your own website and at the same time also getting lots of dental patients as well. You need to know the things that can help you improve your own website and make it effective. Then, everything else is just details in dentist marketing. The Formula For Your Success! T C Cash This is the formula that I have come up with to put you on a winning side of the game. You want to make your life easier and enjoy seeing more and more patients from your on-line dentist marketing, right? If your answer is yes, then take note of this formula, because this is really going to be a great help for you in your business. Now let me tell you what those letters mean... T stands for Traffic! T is for Traffic. What does the word traffic mean here in dentist marketing? Traffic is the rate on how many people are coming in to your web page daily as they go over the Internet. But take note, I did not use the word hits, rather, I used the word people. These are enthusiastic and good people looking for the dental professional that they would like to do business with. And this is the reason why your web page should be built and presented in a way that it gives them what they want. Your web page must reach out to them in a way that it would be easy for them to choose you as their own dentist! From here, we go to the second part of the equation. C stands for Conversion! C is for Conversion. What does this conversion mean? Conversion means that the people visiting your website (or the visitors) becomes your patient! By this you convert people from being visitors to becoming your patients. In on-line dentist marketing, this is what you would really want, right? Know how to structure your own site to get people to enter their names and personal information, then they actually call http://advice-and.info/Business/92021_Dentist_Marketing_Getting_On_Top_On-line.html Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:24:56 GMT In dental marketing, Invisalign is being promoted for patients who need whiter, stronger teeth. In this article, I am going to show you new dental marketing ideas on marketing Invisalign. So what new dental marketing ideas are you going to apply to market invisalign? Or what new dental marketing ideas do you use to attract more patients to accept Invisalign cases? The new dental marketing ideas that you are going to follow to market this solution to patients in are first, through your staff; and second, through Invisalign Open House. Idea #1: Have The Right Staff! The first of the new dental marketing ideas that you have to follow is that you need the staff that's educated and trained to talk to every patient who express interest in having straighter, more attractive teeth, and also educated and trained to help ask people identify their problem. Wendy Briggs, president of Hygiene Diamonds and Brilliance Inner Circle, gives a magic question for every single patient who walks through the door ( and who becomes a new patient). She asks them: On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your smile?. The patient would then give various answers. They may say 2, or 4, or 6, or 7; but it really doesn't matter, because the next question given to them would be: What would make it a 10?. And we, as a dental team, listen to their answers. The moment they start talking about how they like to have straighter and whiter teeth, we take down notes and through this we can create a good package of information and give it back and sell the treatment. The staff also needs to know the important benefits of Invisalign; first, it's invisible; second, it's removable; and third, it allows more people to feel more confident (as opposed to wearing traditional metal braces)! Idea #2: Make An Invisalign Open House! The next of the new dental marketing ideas to market Invisalign is to make an Invisalign Open House. When you think about making one there are two things that you should remember: 1) You have to be ab http://advice-and.info/Business/91997_New_Dental_Marketing_Ideas_On_Marketing_Invisalign.html Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:11:04 GMT In dental marketing, everybody aims to make BIG money for their business. Some may be successful, some may not. But what makes one to be successful in the dental marketing business? Dental marketing consultant Ed O' Keefe will share to you an important factor for such success in the business. For the dental marketing consultant, the important factor to be successful is SPEED! As we all know it, the way to make BIG money and more of it in just about anything in life ( in any kind of business, marketing, etc. ) has to do with speed. So is it in dental marketing. For the dental marketing consultant, if you want to have more and more money, then you need to do the activities necessary that enables you to have more of it faster. This sounds too simple, doesn't it? The reason is because it is! THE PROCESS OF CREATION: For the dental marketing consultant, to make good money in the business, first is you have to have the process of creation. It's simple: 1) Idea First off is for you to have an idea on how y ou would go for your goal. 2) Knowledge Then the next thing you do is for you to acquire the knowledge required to execute your idea. 3) Resources You then get the resources ( people, etc.) needed to do it for you...or help you implement it. 4) Fire! - Then move quickly... and fire, fire, fire! 5) Feedback Get the feedbacks from the results that you have achieved. Be it good, bad, ugly...it doesn't matter at all! 6) Re-evaluate You then re-evaluate, then re-aim, and again FIRE, FIRE, FIRE! The only other factor in this process is how quickly you implement things! The person who moves quickly creates new end results... then re-evaluates... and heshe may be on the 4th revision while the other person is on step 3 of their first shot at it. Then the dental marketing consultant will take you on to the next step. TAKE FAST ACTION! Therefore, the person who moves faster becomes 10 times more successful, as heshe is 10 times wiser. The dental marketing consultant would remind y http://advice-and.info/Business/91993_Dental_Marketing_Consultant_Ed_O_Keefe_On_Speed_As_An_Important_Factor_In_Dental_Marketing.html Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:01:06 GMT In on-line dentist marketing, all that matters is the development and growth of your dental website. By development and growth, it means getting more and more traffic into your own dentist marketing website and at the same time getting more and more dental patients as well. You need to know the stuff that can help you beef-up your own website! Aside from this, everything else is just details in dentist marketing. The Formula For Success! I have come up with a simple yet special formula to have you on a winning side. If you want to make your life easier and enjoy seeing more and more patients from your on-line dentist marketing, then this formula is for you: T C Cash. T is for Traffic! T stands for Traffic. So what does the word traffic mean in dentist marketing? It means the rate on how many people are coming in to your web page everyday as they use the Internet. But take note that I did not use the word hits, instead, I made use of the word people. These are passionate and enthus iastic people who are seeking out the dental professional that they would like to conduct business with. This is the reason why your web page should be presented in a way that it gives and satisfies what they want. Your web page must communicate with them in a way that it makes it easy for them to choose you as their own dentist! Then we go to the second part of the equation.... C is for Conversion! C stands for Conversion. What does conversion mean? It means that the people visiting your website becomes your patient. So you convert people from being visitors to becoming your patients. In on-line dentist marketing, this is what you would really want, right? You need to know how to structure your own website to get people to enter their name and information, then they call your office and officially become your patient! If you can't get people to be your patient through your website, then what you have is a website just sitting out there gathering nothing but Cyber Dust! Expounding more on the http://advice-and.info/Business/91881_Dentist_Marketing_On-line__How_To_Get_On_Top_In_The_Business.html Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:38:29 GMT In dentist marketing, Invisalign is being promoted for patients who need to have whiter, stronger teeth. In this article, I am going to show you the dentist marketing ideas on how to market Invisalign. So what dentist marketing ideas are you going to apply in marketing invisalign? What dentist marketing ideas do you have to use to gain more case acceptance for Invisalign cases? The dentist marketing ideas that you are going to use in marketing this kind of solution to the patients are first, through your staff; and second, through Invisalign Open House. Dentist Marketing Idea #1: Have The Right Staff! The first of the dentist marketing ideas that you have to follow is that you need the staff who are educated and trained to talk to every patient who express interest in having straighter, more attractive teeth, and also educated and trained to help ask people identify their problem. President of Hygiene Diamonds and Brilliance Inner Circle Wendy Briggs, gives a magic question for every single pa tient who walks through the door. She asks them: On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your smile?. Given this question the patient would then give different answers. They may say 2, or 4, or 6, or perhaps 7. Whatever their answers may be, it really doesn't matter. And this is because the next question that would be asked to them is: What would make it a 10?. And we, as a dental team, listen to the patients' answers. We take down notes the moment they start talking about how they like to have straighter and whiter teeth, and through this we can create a good package of information and give it back and then sell the treatment. The staff also needs to know the important benefits of Invisalign: it's invisible; it's removable; and it allows more people to feel more confident! Dentist Marketing Idea #2: Make An Invisalign Open House! The next of the dentist marketing ideas in marketing Invisalign is creating an Invisalign Open House. When you think about making one there are two important thi http://advice-and.info/Business/91880_Dentist_Marketing_How_To_Market_Invisalign.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:12:35 GMT I, Ed O' Keefe, has been a dental marketing consultant for years now. And what I have seen is that the Internet is one of the primary factors that can drive you to success in the dental marketing business niche. Today, we see a lot of people making use of the Internet in their daily activities. They go shopping through e-bay; looking up for prices of cars in automobile sites; logging on to social networking sites; we can see that the Internet is becoming an important part of people's daily lives. This being the fact, I can say that the Internet itself can be considered as a dental marketing strategy. We can harness the power of the Internet as a new strategy to become successful in the dental marketing business. Questions like these may possibly come in to your mind (and I believe it probably will): How can the Internet lead you to success in dental marketing?; or What makes it fit to be a winning factor in dental marketing?. In dental marketing, I find the Internet useful to the business due to many things. (1) I See A Lot Of People Going On-line! Many people are using the Internet in their daily activities. There are more people searching on-line compared to that of any other media for their service providers; they get directions to places they want to go, they chat with other people in social media directories, and others. As you build your own website for your dental marketing business, make sure that your website would increase the traffic of your visitors (which could be your potential patients), as you expect more and more people would log on to the Internet in a daily basis. (2) I Suggest The Use Of Good Keywords! Using good key words can help you become successful in dental marketing as well. Make use of good specific keywords (such as dental, marketing,etc.) that are suitable in the business. With this, you can really dominate your area in the Internet... and you will surely overcome your competitors! (3) I Would Always Iterate: Every Visit Counts! Making new patients th http://advice-and.info/Business/91772_Internet_Dental_Marketing_A_Dental_Marketing_Consultants_Perspective_On_The_Business.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:00:39 GMT In cosmetic dentist marketing, you should be able to increase the lifetime value of every patient. Increasing such value in cosmetic dentist marketing means that you should be able to increase the time span that your patient is going to have you as their cosmetic dentist. You can do this by identifying the different behaviors of new cosmetic patients when they come into the practice... then leave. In cosmetic dentist marketing, they should fit into a few different bigger categories, then you can slim them down. There are different patients with different needs in cosmetic dentist marketing. Take for example you have 3 kinds of patients: Patient A comes in as a new patient, accepts basic standard of care. Then you have this patient scheduled for cleaning three to six months out. Patient B comes in as a new patient as well, and accepts basic standard of care. However he requires a lot more of work to be done, as he has expressed some interest and desire to have more cosmetic work done.... but leaves unscheduled for next step. So set the appointment for 6 months out ( the cosmetic dentist and office accepts the fact that, They just aren't ready yet... or you'll try again in 6 months). Patient C comes in expressing interest in implants, cosmetic dentistry, or any kind of higher end treatments. But in the end he does not accept the treatment. (You may think, What were their excuses? Reason? Real reasons vs. False reasons? Other possible ways to sub-niche these types of patients might be by age; Seniors vs. Boomers; Moms with young children vs. Moms whose children who are out of high school; Men vs. Women; Affluent vs. Non-Affluent). Strategies To Increase The Lifetime Value Of Each New Patient: As you go on with your business in cosmetic dentist marketing, you should develop strategies that will be able to help you maximize the lifetime value of each cosmetic patient. Make it a point that your patient should receive an e-mail (minimally) within 24 hours, thanking them, making sure they call http://advice-and.info/Business/91769_Cosmetic_Dentist_Marketing__Strategies_On_Increasing_The_Lifetime_Value_Of_Every_Cosmetic_Patient.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:15:14 GMT In cosmetic dentist marketing, you should find helpful ways on how to promote your business. Promoting your cosmetic dentist marketing business would mean getting more cosmetic patients coming in to your side. In this article, dental marketing consultant Ed O' Keefe will teach you the strategies that you can use to become successful in your cosmetic dentist marketing business. Strategy#1: Sub-Niche Your Practice One way to promote your cosmetic dentist marketing business is to sub-niche your practice. You can do this by promoting other services. So what does it mean to sub-niche your practice? For us, what we do is we promote Invisalign for patients who would like to have whiter, stronger teeth. They come to me and I ask them what their ultimate goals are, and we have Invisalign as a solution to help them get straighter teeth. But if they want to get straighter, whiter teeth and they want it now (as they are candidates for veneers and other kinds of services we offer), we can present the whole trea tment plan right then and there. So one of the things that I like to teach the doctors is this: start sub-niching your practice; go after your patients with problems and have cosmetic dentistry as the solution for them! Strategy#2: Go For Lead-Generation Marketing Another way to promote your cosmetic dentist marketing business is by doing lead-generation marketing. What does this mean? It means that you advertise your services. By advertising you can help people identify you as a good cosmetic dentist by overwhelming them with before and afters proof, educating them through DVD's, powerpoints, and also through the Internet. For me, this is the future of dentistry and how it is going to be sold. You can have the options of educating your patients through seminars, local workshops, or have the Internet as your option, and then you can educate them on-line as well. Strategy#3: Open The Floodgates To Your Patients And another way to promote cosmetic dentist marketing is by opening the fl http://advice-and.info/Business/91768_Cosmetic_Dentist_Marketing_Strategies_To_Promote_Your_Cosmetic_Dentist_Marketing_Business.html Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:13:02 GMT As a dentist marketing consultant, I find that keeping a constant flow of patients is one of the biggest challenges in dentist marketing. Unfortunately, even the greatest dentist in the world will go broke without a constant stream of new patients who pay, stay and refer ( and it doesn't matter if he has been a dentist for a very long time working hard in the trenches providing great service ). I am going to share with you 4 strategies on how to deal with such a challenge in dentist marketing. Following these strategies will help you to go for success in your business. Strategy 1: Create A Constant Stream Of Patients! In dentist marketing, your job is to create a constant stream of specific high quality new patients. For me, if you are attracting the precise type of patients in your practice, who accept your treatment recommendations ( and they refer as well), it is considered as a good start. Keep in mind that it doesn't matter how long you've been in the business, you always have to keep new fresh p atients coming in. Strategy 2: Reactivate Existing Patients! The inactive and unfinished treatment base is the hidden goldmine within your practice. So advise my clients to go after this hidden goldmine. How do you do this in dentist marketing ? By doing it in four ways: send out 3-step to 4-step direct mail campaign offer your patients credits towards any cosmetic dentistry (whitening,etc) do voice broadcast to your patient's home or phone calls (works tremendously) use e-mails as a multimedia approach Strategy 3: Create A Referral System! The next thing that you can do is create a referral system that gets to bring a flood of referrals to your practice. However, you should put in mind that if the referral system is based on your own efforts alone, then you do not have a true system in place. Always remember that a great referral system is a system that is team-generated and team-oriented. In dentist marketing the team has a responsibility and accountability for those results. Strategy http://advice-and.info/Business/91764_Dentist_Marketing_Ed_O_Keefe_On_How_To_Keep_A_Constant_Flow_Of_Patients_In_Your_Practice.html Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:21:27 GMT In internal dental marketing, making a start with the business means that you have to start it right. You should be able to know how to make your practice come hand-in-hand with the your internal dental marketing business. Among the questions that the doctors asked me in a free tele-class where I invited them: were How do I know where to start with your marketing?, and How do I know if my practice can be helped with marketing?. I gave them a round about answer. A fair one nonetheless, it explains what you really need to think about in internal dental marketing instead of being misled by a consultant or marketing representative. Presented here are two specific measurements which helps me objectively coach my clients on the health of their practice. A. The Referral Ratio You need to consider the Referral Ratio in internal dental marketing. Now, you may ask: What is Referral Ratio?. It is actually simple. You take the total number of referrals you received last year and divide it by the total number of active patients you have. Thus the formula: Referral Ratio (total # of referrals received last year) (total # of active patients you have) So, if you have 300 referrals and 1000 active patients: Referral Ratio (300 referrals) (1000 active patients) 30 30 Referral Ratio is considered Good, not great... but it is a good starting place. Another would be if you have 100 referrals and 1000 active patients: Referral Ratio (100 referrals) (1000 active patients) 10 If you fall in this range, then you have some big improvements to do. But what's important is that at least you now know it.. and we can go to work! If you range below a 50 Referral Ratio in internal dental marketing, then you would list it as one of your strategic objectives to improve over the next 90 days to 12 months. If you range below a 20 Referral Ratio, then it is vital! It calls for immediate action! B. The 6-Month Value Of A New Patient In in http://advice-and.info/Business/91393_Internal_Dental_Marketing__A_Marketing_Strategy_By_Ed_O_Keefe.html Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:00:24 GMT Starting up with your dentist marketing business means that you have to have ideas on how to start it right. And in dentist marketing you should be able to make your practice compatible with the business. I will share to you good ideas on how to do just that in your own dentist marketing business. Holding a free tele-class with a group of doctors, I was asked: How do I know where to start with your marketing?, and How do I know if my practice can be helped with marketing?. I gave them a fair, round about answer. My answer to them explains what you really need to think about in dentist marketing instead of being in a position where you are misled by a marketing consultant or representative. In here, I'll be giving you specific measurements that I like to look at which helps me to objectively coach my clients on the health of their practice. Specific Measurement 1 : Consider the Referral Ratio You need to consider the Referral Ratio in dentist marketing. So, what is this Referral Ratio?. It's simple. All you need to do is just take the total number of referrals you received for the last year and divide it by the total number of active patients you have in your practice. So now we have: Referral Ratio (total # of referrals received last year) (total # of active patients you have) With this formula, consider these examples: Example 1: If you have 300 referrals and 1000 active patients: Therefore; Referral Ratio (300 referrals) (1000 active patients) 30 Note: 30 Referral Ratio is considered good, not great... but it is a good starting place. Example 2: If you have 100 referrals and 1000 active patients: Therefore; Referral Ratio (100 referrals) (1000 active patients) 10 Note: If you fall in this range, then you have some major improvements to do. The good news though is that at least you now know it.. and we can go to work! If you hit below 50 referral ratio in your dentist marketing marketing business, then you would http://advice-and.info/Business/91392_Dentist_Marketing_Strategy__How_To_Start_Your_Business_Right.html Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:02:22 GMT In the dental marketing arena, starting up with the business means that you have to have the strategies on how to start it right. And in dental marketing you should be able to know how to make your practice come hand-in-hand with the business. In this article, I will share to you the strategy on how to do just that in your dental marketing business. On a free tele-class wherein I invited a bunch of doctors, among the questions that I received from them were How do I know where to start with your marketing?, and How do I know if my practice can be helped with marketing?. What I gave them was a round about answer. But it's a fair one nonetheless... and it explains what you REALLY need to think about in dental marketing instead of being misled by a consultant or marketing representative. Here are two specific measurements that I like to look at which helps me objectively coach my clients on the health of their practice. #1 : The Referral Ratio In dental marketing, you need to take into consider ation the Referral Ratio. You may ask: What is Referral Ratio?. It is actually simple. All you really need here is a general ball park. Just take the total number of referrals you received last year and divide it by the total number of active patients you have. So what we have is this formula: Referral Ratio (total # of referrals received last year) (total # of active patients you have) So let's take for example you have 300 referrals and 1000 active patients: Therefore; Referral Ratio (300 referrals) (1000 active patients) 30 30 Referral Ratio is considered Good, not great... but it is a good starting place. Another example would be that you have 100 referrals and 1000 active patients: Therefore; Referral Ratio (100 referrals) (1000 active patients) 10 If you fall in this range, then you have some MAJOR improvements to do. But the good news is that at least you now know it.. and we can go to work! If you are hitting below a 50 Referral http://advice-and.info/Business/91391_Dental_Marketing__A_Killer_Marketing_Strategy.html Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:02:53 GMT